Death Before Wicket: A Phryne Fisher Mystery

In one of Greenwood's stronger entries in her acclaimed series set in 1920s Australia (Ruddy Gore , etc.), her elegant, larger-than-life amateur sleuth Phryne Fisher travels on holiday from Melbourne to Sydney, where she confronts a pair of pressing mysteries as soon as she washes off the grime of her train trip. Joss Hart and Clarence Ottery, young gentlemen escorts who are students at the University of Sydney, ask Phryne to exonerate a friend accused of stealing exams from a safe in the dean's office. Then Phryne's maid, Dot Williams, discovers her sister, Joan, has disappeared, leaving two young children in the care of Joan's loutish husband. With typical aplomb, Phryne juggles both puzzles, even as she crosses swords with a sinister cult leader who may have at least some of the answers she seeks. The author artfully blends action, humor and deduction. (Jan.)